Book Extract: House of Thieves By Rachel Walkley

Please join me in welcoming Rachel Walkley to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, House of Thieves.

At Terrington Hall, objects are treasured while people are forgotten.

Chief conservator Amy is restoring the Hurly family’s guilt-stained hoard when a theft forces her to hire Harrison, a security adviser on a personal quest to uncover his own history.

Unknown to anyone, an invisible presence woven into the fabric of the house watches their every move.

When Harrison uncovers a room sealed for decades, the investigation shifts from simple theft to the resurrection of murderous secrets. In a house where the past is too heavy to escape, the dead don’t need bodies to tell their stories — they just need someone to listen.

One house. Two mysteries. Two centuries apart.

Rachel has shared an extract with us. We hope you enjoy.

*****beginning of extract*****

Terrington Hall, for centuries, was home to the Hurly family until it was handed over to a charitable organisation and opened to the public for viewing. Unknown to Amy, the head of conservation and new member of staff, there is an invisible presence who continues to exist at Terrington Hall. This solitary inhabitant, waiting in the shadows, sets the scene…

*****

Since Amy’s arrival at Terrington Hall, I often stay by her, move with her, as close as possible, as if I walk her steps, breathe the air she breathes and can see what is in front of her. But I don’t feel her thoughts or touch what she does. My hopes for salvation are fuelled by her curiosity, her diligence, especially if she discovers the truth behind the thieves that once lived at Terrington.

I’ve always relied on others for companionship, to breach the loneliness of my incorporeal existence. My chief occupation is listening to their conversations. They have been generous in keeping me abreast of the changes both in and outside the house. They read newspapers and magazines, speak of things and events that are difficult for me to comprehend until one explains something complex to another in a simple manner, as if to a child.

There is one whom Amy doesn’t notice among the endless chaotic stream of visitors. He likes to stand before the grandest portrait in the Long Gallery, and admire the subject, as if they are familiars, but they are strangers to one another. What happened here, and far away, is secreted away out of sight. Many have been and gone and never cared enough to ask the right questions. They believed the lies and gossip that spread and confounded the truth of my life. I despise them all.

I’m the unseen shadow that drifts through the rooms, a whisper that can’t be heard. Like the objects that never venture out of the house, I’m trapped as there is nothing that can fashion me into a single form, not even the house itself. Forget what you have been told in fairy tales. Spirits do not transform into bodily shapes or apparitions that are visible or felt. And worse than that, invisibility is amnesia; I’m a stranger to my own history. Without the power to materialise, memories of my stolen life remain petrified within these stone walls; I’m left shaped only by the hollow years that followed my death.

*****end of extract*****

About Rachel Walkley –

Rachel Walkley is a former librarian and scientist who lives in the North West of England, where she spends her spare time making music and writing.

Her debut novel, The Women of Heachley Hall, was a bestseller in the UK and Australia.

Known for weaving together family secrets, magical mysteries, old houses and inspirational women, Rachel also writes gripping female-led crime novels under the pen name Rae Shaw.

Say hello to Rachel via her website, Linktr.ee and Instagram. 

Click here to view the book trailer for House of Thieves.

House of Thieves was released on 4th August 2026. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Books2Read. 

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.